Luke 5:21-26 (NIV) The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
The place where Jesus was teaching was filled with people, quite a few of them Pharisees and scribes, or teachers of the law. This was quite early in Jesus’ ministry, and these religious leaders were still trying to figure out what to make of Him. So they came to where He was, listened to His teachings, and asked penetrating questions.
These men were stunned when Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” This was not a simple platitude that anyone could say, like, “God loves you.” This, to them, was a clear pronouncement of forgiveness, something that only God Himself was authorized to do. For Jesus, whom they considered a mere man, to take that divine prerogative on Himself was a clear example of blasphemy, an offense that carried the penalty of death by stoning.
None of them said any of this out loud, but all of them were thinking it. Before that conversation could start, however, Jesus called them on what was going on in their minds. (The fact that He could tell them what they were thinking freaked them out a lot, too!) The question on the table was one of authority: did Jesus have God-given authority to pronounce sins forgiven? If not, then to do so was clearly blasphemy, and had to be confronted as such. If so, then that would be tantamount to Jesus claiming to be God.
Jesus presented His argument as a test of sorts. It was very easy to tell someone that their sins were forgiven. On the surface it was simply a matter of words; there was no outward sign that would prove that the forgiveness had indeed taken place.
On the other hand, it was a much more difficult thing to pronounce someone healed of paralysis. If they couldn’t then get up and walk home, the healing didn’t happen, and the healer’s authority over the infirmity was conclusively disproved.
So Jesus’ solution was simple. He would do the hard thing, the thing that was visible, as proof that He also had authority to do the easier thing, the invisible thing, of pronouncing sins forgiven. And before any debate could begin, He did exactly that. He commanded the paralytic to get up, pick up his mat, and walk home.
All eyes turned to the paralytic. After only a moment, the man sat up with wonder in his eyes at his own ability to do so. Then he stood to his feet for the first time in ages, bent over and picked up his mat, and walked out in full view of everyone, praising God the whole way.
The crowd, including the Pharisees and teachers of the law, had no idea what to do with this. It was not only an outstanding miracle, it also threw the whole question of who this man really was open to unthinkable possibilities. It tore open theological compartments that these religious leaders had long believed to be hermetically sealed and settled.
Father, we can be equally rigid in our theology, unwilling to accept any new light or fresh insights that You want to show us, because they might throw out of kilter what we already believe. So we miss out on knowing You better and more completely as we grow. Help me, Lord, to always stick completely to Your word, but to always be open to new insights into Your word that You want to share. Amen.